Chapter 1


Bits of light peaked its way into the darkness of the forest like a candle lighting the way, and slowly, the forest began to awaken. Everything around began to turn into a beautiful morning as most mornings usually were, and all seemed very peaceful. However, one certain someone did not notice any of that around her as her eyes were still glued shut.

Gemina's eyes began to squint when she started to feel the sun's rays cast down on her, and slowly she began to awaken. It took her a couple of minutes to fully wake up, but she just wanted to go back to sleep as she woke up. Not that she was tired, but because she didn't feel like doing anything. After what happened last night, she couldn't find it in herself to feel happy about something. She barely remembered what happened the other night, but all she remembered was crying as she was driving back home. Just thinking about what Josh and Desiree did the other night made her want to cry again, but she barely had the energy to even cry at that point. So instead, all she wanted to do was sit on the couch, stuff her face with chocolate ice cream, and watch some romance movies while still in her nightgown.

However, as Gemina was finally fully awake, she started to notice something strange… she wasn't in her room. Confused, she then lifted her head, and when she did, she saw she was lying on grassy land. Trees surrounded her from every direction, and even when it was September, most of the leaves were still green, but soon all the leaves would be changing colors and unlatching themselves from the branches that held them in place. As Gemina looked around her, she began to wonder how she got out here. Did she spend the night here or something? Her family must've been worried sick for her, and she knew she should get back home before her family got more worried about her.

She began to stand, but as she was, her legs started to feel shaky, and the next thing she knew, she found herself hitting the ground. Gemina thought it strange that her legs felt wobbly, and they were never that shaky before. Was she that tired that she could barely find it in herself to stand? Even when she had her very drowsy days, she usually didn't have a problem standing, but this was very odd. However, her icy blue eyes caught a glance at her hands. At first, she thought she was hallucinating, but after she shook her head and looked back down at them, she realized it wasn't hands she was staring at… it was hooves. Gemina began to feel her breath quickening, and as it was, she was looking around her body with her eyes widened. She wasn't seeing her human body. Instead, she saw not only hooves but also a coat as white as snow.

In a matter of moments, Gemina found herself screaming, and when she did, some birds flew out of the trees to the tops of them. Gemina tried to stand and walk, and as she was, she was panicking more. "What's happening?! Why am I like this?!"

As she tried to keep her balance in place, her legs failed on her, and she instead found herself sliding down a steep hill pretty fast. As she was sliding down it, she screamed once more. Before she knew it, she found herself crashing into a bush. After she did, she started to groan and felt a bruise coming on. That wasn't what her mind was on, though, as she could only focus on the fact that she was in the body of a deer! She wasn't dumb as anyone would've realized that deer had hooves and pretty skinny legs; she didn't even need to see her reflection to see if she was right or not. No longer was she her brunette, fair-skinned self…

Gemina wanted to believe that this was a nightmare. No human could magically transform into a deer! How could this have happened? The white doe tried to think, but even thinking was hard as she still couldn't get over that she was in a different body. It felt wrong, almost as if she may have switched bodies with someone. She wanted her other body. She was meant to be a human, not a deer!

Then, something struck Gemina's mind like lightning… A few minutes ago, she remembered driving back home after she saw Josh cheat on her, but what she almost forgot was something she wished she didn't have to go through… The car crashed into a lake. Her eyes widened once more as she remembered everything that happened the other night, and in her mind, she didn't want to believe it… Did she die? The human turned doe shook her head as technically she was still alive, and since she still was, it made her question another thing in her mind: How did she turn into a deer?

Before Gemina could think any further, she started to hear something. At first, it sounded faint, but she heard what sounded like a conversation as she listened closely. She needed help, and she thought that these people could help her. Gemina wasn't sure if they would help, but she at least had to try, even if they may not understand her.

Slowly, she tried to get up, but she fell on her rump on the first try. However, on the second try, she managed to get a good balance. It was a little shaky at first, but she managed not to lose her balance. Gemina felt awkward as she tried to use her new legs, and it was almost like she was relearning to walk again. After some slow and steady walking, she tried to do a little running to find the voices faster, but as she tried to run, she almost stumbled, and before long, she found herself crashing on the hard surface of the earth once more. Already, the teenaged doe was starting to hate the new body she had and wondered why she had to have a body challenging to walk/run in.

"Whoa, Miss. Doe, are you alright?"

The voice Gemina heard was one of the voices she heard from the distance, and at that moment, her hopes filled. "Yes, I'm alright, I just-"

When the white doe looked up, her eyes widened when she saw two squirrels staring at her, concerned. They were both males, with one of them being grey while the other was red. She didn't want to believe that one of those squirrels just talked. She could've sworn a human spoke to her. Surely she was just seeing things, right?

"Miss?" The gray squirrel spoke, and when he did, Gemina's jaw dropped.

"Wow, I've never seen a deer with white fur before," the red squirrel said to his pal. "Not often we get deer like that."

"Di… Did you just talk?!" Gemina said, freaking out once more.

The two squirrels at that moment looked at Gemina puzzled as if she told them she didn't know what five plus five was. They locked their eyes at each other and then back to the white doe, and when they did, the grey squirrel spoke once again. "Umm… are you alright, ma'am?"

The human turned doe couldn't hold it back as she once again found herself screaming, for the squirrels were actually talking. She sprinted away-or at least tried to-away from the squirrels, and as she was, she didn't dare to look back. Talking animals didn't exist! But how was this possible? What witchcraft was this?

Not even a minute in, she tripped to the ground once more, and when she did, she groaned. These legs were driving her insane, and who could blame her? She had never experienced anything like this and it was scaring her a lot to the point that she wanted to hide under something. Gemina felt very helpless.

As much as she was terrified of what was happening to her and around her, Gemina tried her best to calm down before she ended up with a heart attack. She was in a bit of a pickle, but surely she could try and get back home. Maybe if she found someone that was human, they would help her-of course, if they could understand her. The icy blue-eyed deer wasn't sure if it would be a good idea, but she had to try at least. It was better than nothing, after all.

"Okay…" Gemina said quietly to herself. "I'll just try and get home-or try to find a nearby town at least-and ask for help…I just need to try and walk." The white doe looked down at herself, and the first thing she did was slowly push herself up by the front of her legs, and as she did, she tried to use the right moment to get the back of her legs in place. It was wobbly at first, but luckily she didn't fall down the first time, and she managed to get her balance in place. She sighed in relief and began to try and walk through the woods. "Slow and steady, that's all you need to do, Gemina… That's all you need to do."

Gemina then started to try and get to the nearest town she could find so she could find help. For how long this would take, she wasn't sure, but she hoped that this wouldn't take her the whole day to get out of these woods.


It was such a beautiful afternoon for the great horned owl. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and everything seemed to be at peace. What was unusual about this owl was while most owls are considered nocturnal, he preferred to be up and about on a bright and sunny day. He's done it for a very long time ever since he learned how to fly, and while most considered it quite odd, he took no heed to it. It wasn't like he slept under a rock after all.

The great horned owl named Friend Owl started to preen his plumage, but as he was, he noticed something strange out of the corner of his yellow eyes. He was perched near his hollow as his eyes caught onto a doe, but not just any doe: a white one, and it was somewhat surprising to see a deer with white fur. It was rare to see deer with that kind of a coat, and the great horned owl had never seen her around before. Perhaps she was new to these forests.

However, the coat on the doe was not what caught the owl's attention. Instead, it was the way she was walking. She seemed a little shaky, almost like she was a newborn fawn, and all the old owl could do was stare at her in confusion. Why was she walking like that? He saw her almost fall over at one point, but she managed to keep herself in place and continued to walk on without seeing him watch her.

While still keeping her in sight, Friend Owl lifted his wings and prepared to leave his home. "The Great Prince should know about her." He said to himself.

He dropped down from the branch he was on and then flew to where The Great Prince could be without wasting a moment. Of course, there were many possible places he could be by now, but with Friend Owl pretty much knowing what his routine was like, he had a good idea of where the Great Prince might be.


The sun was slowly starting to dip in the sky as Gemina continued to try and find the nearest town, but she was getting nowhere. She was very lost and had no idea which way was the right way. It was clear now she was stuck in a very sticky situation.

The human-turned deer stopped and needed a break from all the walking she'd done. Walking in this body was a lot of work and all she wanted to do now was collapse to the ground. She felt like giving up as every tree she's seen almost looked identical, but she couldn't give up! She couldn't stay in these woods. She didn't belong here! Gemina belonged with the humans. If anything, Gemina had to keep going, even if her hooves would crack and bleed.

After some panting, Gemina slowly started to walk again and with all the walking she's done, she felt aches all over her body and felt like her body was going to give out at any moment. She felt as wobbly as jello. The more the doe walked, the more she started to notice that it was getting darker outside. It felt like she just woke up, and now it was slowly turning into the night? This was the last thing Gemina wanted, and now she was slowly starting to panic. She's heard of what wild animals lurked out in forests of California, and without something to protect herself, she was pretty much an easy target for anything.

A few minutes later, the sun was ultimately out of one's eye and was now replaced with twinkling stars. This was bad for Gemina, and there was no way she'd survive out here unless she found shelter. Where could she find shelter, though? If anything, most of the animals in this forest pretty much had all the covers occupied. She was still having a hard time believing those two squirrels talked, and if anything, she might've hit her head too hard somehow. Her ears were flat against her head as she moved through the dark forest, and with every step she took, her icy-blue eyes eyed anything from the enormous trees to the tiniest of crevices, for she feared that something would pop out and try to attack her since she looked utterly helpless.

To more of the white doe's fear, she started to see fog slowly swirl out, and before long, it was getting rather complex to see in these woods, and it was almost like she was walking through a cursed forest. Oh, what she would give to have shelter now. Her heart pounded rapidly, and she wanted nothing more than to be at home right now, snuggled in her bed. She could already imagine her quilt all wrapped up around her like a burrito and keeping her warm all night as she dreamed some pleasant dreams… But, unfortunately, tonight, there would be no quilt provided for her.

As the human-turned deer continued to trek, she heard something rustling nearby and gasped as she halted. She looked over, and when she did, she saw a bush moving. The moving got more rapid, as did her heartbeats, and as she stared more at the frontier, Gemina could feel herself shake. She couldn't find it in herself to move, and she was stuck where she was like glue was on the bottom of her hooves.

Then, something popped out of the bush, and when it did, Gemina yelped and closed her eyes, thinking it looked like a dangerous animal. However, she heard a croak, and when she looked, she saw a bumpy, green frog as her heart continued to race. The frog croaked once more then hopped away. When the frog was out of sight, the white doe's heart started to calm itself, and as it was, she sighed in relief. "It was just a frog, nothing to be afraid of... I'm safe."

However, to the icy-blue-eyed doe's horror, she heard a howl nearby, and when she did, her eyes widened, and she started to shake once more. Growling started to be heard, and when Gemina slowly looked over her shoulder, her breath was caught in her throat when she saw a figure emerge from the fog, and it was walking on all four legs, almost as if the mist created it. When the doe managed to get a better look at the creature, she saw that it was a coyote and when she did, she gasped. It had large erect ears, a slender muzzle, a bushy tail, and a tan brown color with streaks of grey for the coat. The coyote had scars all over his body, but what frightened the human turned doe the most were his eyes… One of them was a golden-brown color while the other was as gray as the fog… from what the white doe could see, the coyote was blind in the one gray eye.

Saliva escaped the coyote's chops as he continued to growl very dangerously at Gemina, and as he did, the coyote started to approach the helpless deer. As the coyote was approaching her, the icy blue-eyed doe slowly started to walk backward. The coyote had a ravenous look in his eyes. Not only that, he looked like a powerful brute… "Oh, no…" Gemina said quietly.

The coyote growled louder, and when he did, Gemina tried to run away from it as fast as she could. As the human turned doe tried to run, she could hear the coyote chasing her, and she started to scream. The coyote barked as he continued to pursue her, and the more that the doe ran, the more she could feel herself getting exhausted, and it didn't help that her running was not looking too good. If she were in her other body, she would've had no problem running, but now she was about to be that coyote's supper. Why couldn't she have been a squirrel? She could've climbed a tree and gotten away from that coyote as easy as pie!

All the sudden, Gemina tripped over something, and that sent her plummeting to the ground. The doe saw that she tripped over a tree branch, but that was not what she was concerned with: her main concern at the moment was her life. She looked over to where the coyote was now, and when she did, she saw him slowly walking towards her. The white doe started to breathe heavily, and as she did, she tried to get up quickly, but the more she tried to get up on her wobbly legs, the more the coyote was nearing her… This was it… This was how she was going to die officially… She couldn't die, though! She wasn't ready to die!

"No, please," Gemina begged quietly, but the coyote ignored her, and that made tears slowly emerge from her eyes. "Please…"

The coyote barked once more, and as he did, he ran towards Gemina. Everything seemed to go by slowly as the white doe still tried to get up, but she could barely do that. Finally, the coyote was inches away from biting into her flesh, and as it was, the icy blue-eyed doe screamed.

However, out of nowhere, a figure jumped over Gemina and then kicked the coyote to the chest, and the coyote was sent flying towards the ground.

Gemina's eyes widened as she did not expect what just happened, and to her amazement, the figure started to fight off the coyote. It was hard to tell who the figure was, but the white doe couldn't believe how easily the figure was handling that vicious coyote… It was unbelievable. No matter what the coyote did, the figure didn't give up the fight and fought hard. Then, the figure went as far as to stomp pretty hard on the coyote a couple of times and at the third time the coyote quickly moved out of the way and as soon as he did he retreated, whimpering, as his tail was tucked between his legs.

When Gemina thought that she was going to die, this figure saved her. It was a miracle! Without this figure's help, she would've been as good as dead for sure. The white doe wanted to say something, but she wasn't exactly sure what though. Everything happened so fast that no words could even escape her mouth.

The figure turned towards her, and when they did, Gemina managed to get a better look at them to see that it was a stag. It was the biggest stag that the icy-blue-eyed doe had ever seen before, and he looked very majestic with his dark brown coat, dark brown eyes, and large antlers that almost looked like a crown on him with at least ten prongs on them. No words could describe how the white doe felt as she stared at the stag, but all she could do was stay where she was.

The stag was staring at her thoughtfully, and as he was, he approached the awe-struck doe. "Are you alright?" He asked in a deep voice.

Gemina was quiet as she observed the stag, but she was pretty surprised that he spoke. Of course, she really shouldn't have been surprised as she ran into a couple of squirrels that spoke, but this was something she was still trying to wrap her head around. "Oh, y-yes," the white doe managed to say a little quietly. "I'm okay, th-thank you… for saving me."

It didn't make things easy for Gemina as the stag continued to stare at her sternly, and as he did, her ears flattened against her head. "Why are you out here this late? Weren't you ever told that danger comes out at night?"

"I… I…" Gemina didn't even know what to say towards the stag before her. She wasn't sure whether to lie or tell the truth. However, if she said that she used to be human, she could already see him thinking of her as crazy… The only thing she could do at this moment was to try and speak her mind… only with a bit of a lie here and there. Slowly, the human-turned deer got up without trying to embarrass herself, and when she did, she started to speak once more. "I'm sorry, I… I was lost. I'm new around here, and all I was trying to do was find shelter. Please, forgive me..."

The stag started to inspect Gemina as he walked around her, and he replied as he was doing that. "A good friend of mine told me that a white doe was in these forests. He said that you were walking strangely like a newborn fawn, and I've known him long enough to know he never lies." He then stopped right in front of her. "So, tell me, why would that be?"

"Well…" The icy-blue-eyed deer quickly tried to come up with an excuse, and when she finally had it, she spoke. "With all the traveling I've been doing, I barely got any sleep, you could say… That's why I was walking strangely."

Gemina couldn't help but wonder how she didn't notice anyone watching her. Was she so much in her head that she couldn't even look around her surroundings that closely and carefully? That didn't matter now, though, as she watched as the stag tilted his head a little unconvinced.

After a moment of thought, the stag then sighed. "I suppose I should welcome you then. I'm the Great Prince of these forests. What is your name?"

The white doe was relieved that the stag didn't question her any further, but what surprised her was that this stag was royalty. She had no idea that animals could be considered royalty even. "It's Gemina," she answered. "Some call me Gem for short, though."

"Well then, Gemina, it would be best that I help you find shelter then. It's not very safe out here at night. You were lucky I was there in time, and the second time you may not be so lucky."

The Great Prince had a point. If Gemina traveled alone again at this time of night, she might not be alive the next day. She certainly had a hard time running from that coyote, and for now, it was best that she stuck with the stag. Better safe than sorry, after all. "I understand. Thank you, Great Prince. I don't know how I could ever repay you."

"There is no need. As a Prince, it's my job to make sure everyone is safe, including you."

With that, the Great Prince looked away from the white doe and walked through the woods, and as he did, Gemina made sure to keep up with him the best she could. Of course, she still felt a little shaky, but she tried not to let that bother her. All she could do was trust that this stag knew exactly what he was doing.


A/N- Chapter 1 in! Oh, boy, Gemina sure did have one crazy day for sure and I can definitely say the next few days will definitely be a challenge for her XD